British Safety Council Annual Conference 2025: New risks and emerging hazards

Описание: AI in the Workplace: Hazards, Ethics & Practical Governance

Speaker: Dr Bob Rajan-Rajadurai Sithamparanadarajah OBE JP PhD — Vice President, Safety Groups UK

About the speaker

A futurist strategist and former HSE policy developer (retired 2020), Dr Bob is a former President of BOHS, awarded an OBE for contributions to the Department for Work and Pensions. A fellow of multiple professional bodies, he has published 30+ scientific papers, developed influential initiatives such as LOCHER and Fit2Fit, and authored books on occupational health, including recent works on AI and risk/COSHH management.

Session focus
How AI is changing workplace health & safety—what emerging hazards and risks look like, and what H&S professionals need to plan, implement, and oversee AI technologies responsibly.

🧠 Key takeaways

AI 101 for OSH: Where AI adds value—and why quality training & validation data are non-negotiable.

Lifecycle & oversight: Design → train → validate → deploy—with meaningful human oversight at every stage.

Types of AI in practice: Reactive, limited-memory, “theory of mind,” and how misuse leads to errors, incidents, or misinformation.

Risk landscape:

Physical & psychosocial risks (automation surprises, false positives/negatives, stress, burnout, discrimination).

Eight critical issues: regulation & standards, bias, data privacy (GDPR), IP, accountability & misinformation, security, over/under-reliance, and loss of human connection.

Ethics & trust: Build a responsible innovation culture—fair, non-discriminatory, explainable, safe, and worthy of public trust.

Buyer’s checklist: Don’t be swayed by hype; demand evidence of performance, safety, robustness, transparency, and a clear governance framework (consider ISO/IEC 42001).

💬 Q&A highlights

Regulatory alignment: Collaboration across regulators and sectors is advancing—H&S pros should press for practical guidance and share evidence.

Risk appetite: Diverse models mean diverse tolerances—set yours explicitly via governance, validation, and continuous monitoring.

Role of HSE: Capacity and pace are real constraints; professionals must act now with due diligence and rigorous assurance.

👉 Call to action

Join a local Safety Group via Safety Groups UK to share practice and accelerate safe, ethical AI adoption.

For slides/resources, contact the speaker as advised during the session.

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